Mike Levin: “With this bill, we can help millions of Americans who are living with disabilities become more financially secure. Just…”

“With this bill, we can help millions of Americans who are living with disabilities become more financially secure. Just as families today can open tax-free accounts to save for the future costs of college for their children, this legislation would make it easier for families to save money for disability-related expenses like transportation, housing, and health prevention and wellness. The ABLE Act aims to ease the financial burden on these individuals and their families. I applaud the efforts of Congressmen Crenshaw, Van Hollen, Sessions, and you, Chairman Camp, among others. The CBO estimates the cost of the bill will be $2 billion over 10 years. The bill is paid for through $638 million in revenue offsets and $1.4 billion in spending cuts. There has been active bipartisan work on paying for this bill, and there is broad agreement on the revenue offsets. There is some opposition to the Medicare offsets included in the bill because the legislation uses Medicare savings for nonhealth purposes. We have challenges ahead, including important work on SGR. I understand the concern about Medicare offsets. I think it is important as we proceed on this bill to stress that it must not be considered a precedent for using Medicare savings to pay for unrelated costs associated with tax changes. The ABLE Act provides much-needed relief, as we have said, to families and their children with disabilities.…”